


Mell Hates Tatooine

by OpalescentDragon



Series: Mell Hates Tattooine [1]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Gen, Mild Language, Tatooine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 21:22:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6300892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpalescentDragon/pseuds/OpalescentDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lieutenant Melladonia Xanadu and Sergeant Aric Jorgan contemplate their next move under the harsh suns of Tatooine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It might be a trap?

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a short drabble about my Trooper and my favorite companion. This is the original drabble, but now I have a whole adventure in the works based on this. At this point I think of them as good friends. They enjoy each other's company, fight well together, and have immense respect for each other's skills. Underlying feelings are starting to develop, but the possibility of anything happening because of them isn't even thought of right now. So, this is really a story of how two good friends rely on each other in a tough situation, which, in my opinion, can be just as sweet as the fluffiest fluff piece.

“F*ck. It’s hot as balls on this maker-forsaken planet.“ 

Lieutenant Melladonia Xanadu pulled off her protective headscarf and tipped her canteen over her short teal hair. She hummed in appreciation as the lukewarm water trickled down the nape of her neck.

“Sir, you really shouldn’t waste our water supply like that.” Sergeant Aric Jorgan wore his customary frown under his own scarf.

Mell didn’t respond, but she did shake her hair out, spraying Jorgan with small droplets. His scowl deepened as he blinked water out of his angular eyes. The fur on his face didn’t even have time to clump before the water evaporated into the unforgiving Tatooine atmosphere.

Mell hated this planet. The heat was unbearable, sandstorms made it impossible to be out in the open for very long, womp rats were terrifying, and there wasn’t more than a bathtub full of water anywhere. It would be a different story if this dirtball was a water planet. She knew how to handle that; she'd been a lifeguard since she was old enough to get the certification, and joined the Alderaan Coast Guard as soon as she was of age, as well. She sighed and refastened her scarf. A sunburn did not need to top her list of complaints, but she knew her face was already a light pink.

She had stopped her speeder about a few hundred meters from a sharp cliff face. She looked over at her sergeant. Jorgan was looking over the nearby cliffs with an intense stare, expressionless. Well, expressionless for Jorgan anyway. He tended to look like someone had just told him a particularly bad pun. Kind of a mixture between disgust and exasperation. He turned his gaze to the open dunes on the opposite side of Mell’s speeder. He kept scanning until he came around to notice her watching him, and raised one eyebrow in question to her stare.

“Oh,” Mell shook her head. “I was just wondering if you saw anything out there.”

“I’m not sure, sir. Thought I saw some movement by the rock face. Could’ve just been mirages playing with the light.’ He looked back to do a double check.

 _Ugh, mirages._ Those were going on her list. She had learned quickly that every body of water she saw was a lie.

Mell waited as Jorgan did another once-over of the surrounding area. She was glad to have him out here. His keen Cathar eyes could see much more than any human ever could, especially Mell. Not that her eyesight was poor - it was crystal clear, but she did have red colorblindness. A trait that she got for having a Miralukan grandmother. Unfortunately, that made it particularly difficult to work on Tatooine. Everything was some shade of red, yellow, or brown. _One more thing to add to the list,_ she thought.

“Something doesn’t sit right with me, sir,” Jorgan grumbled. He rubbed his chin and Mell could see that his claws were poking out slightly. He really _was_ on edge.

“Well, we have to go through that cliff pass sooner or later. It’s the only way to get to our next objective.”

“I’m aware of that, sir, but I can’t help but feel we’d be walking right into a trap.”

They both stood in silence as they each pondered the situation. After a few minutes, Mell hopped onto her speeder and started it up.

“Then let’s zoom through this trap instead,” she said with grin.

The lieutenant’s attitude could be infectious at times, and Jorgan couldn’t help but grin right back. He swung up onto the humming speeder behind his CO.  
“Guess it’s off to work, then. I’ll watch our backs.”


	2. It IS a trap!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lieutenant Xanadu and Sergeant Jorgan find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place. And, no, that wasn't meant as an innuendo. They're literally stuck in a canyon in a bad situation that they will have to fight themselves out of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next part of the story that wasn't really supposed to be a huge thing but is totally now a thing. Typical.

So far, so good. No sign of any enemy activity…yet.

Mell threaded the speeder slowly through the tight canyon pass. Its rock walls towered a good fifty meters or more above them. The way it twisted and curved reminded Mell of flowing water. Did this planet once have water? The canyon was ancient and looked like it had weathered a millennia of hash climate, but it could very well have originally been shaped by some long-gone river. 

Wind whipped at the desert linens covering her armor. The goggles really helped. She was glad that the spaceport vender had talked her into buying them. Maybe it had been at an exorbitant price, but she was glad nonetheless. Jorgan refused to wear any, grumbling something about throwing off his aim. She guessed the real reason was that he didn’t want to look silly, because as far as she knew, nothing could throw off the sergeant’s mark. They had been working together for two planets and a moon, and in all that time she had never seen him miss once. When he took a shot, he meant it. Mell shuddered at the thought of being at the other end of his rifle’s sight.

“You all right, sir?” she heard him ask from behind her.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just really don’t like it here.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more. Can’t wait to be done with Fuse and that mayor and get off this damned planet.”

“Ha! That’s what you said on Nar Shadaa.” She chuckled at the memory of Jorgan’s face when General Garza had given them that assignment. 

“No, I said that the droid was the only good thing to come off of that moon, sir”

“Hey now, there were some great Republic agents stationed there. Agent Balker was incredibly helpful,” _and, not to mention,_ Mell thought, _incredibly attractive…_

“Hmph, don’t even get me started on - did you see that?” Jorgan’s whole manner changed instantly. Crossed arms went to his weapon, back stiffened, and Mell knew without looking that his feline pupils had shrunk to pinpoints.

Mell stopped the speeder to get a better look around. It all looked the same to her, and that bothered her to no end. She was about to start moving again when a small flash of light caught her eye. She focused on it. About thirty meters up by a rock overhang, ten meters behind them. It was rhythmic, almost like…

“Shit!” Both soldiers recognized what that meant simultaneously. 

It was a sand dweller signal. Now there was no doubt that there was a trap set up ahead. Mell began thinking through multiple courses of action. The sand people would already have the entrance to the pass blocked and she was certain an ambush would be waiting for them further down. Her planning was broken by the sound of a single blaster shot.

Jorgan lowered his weapon. It was too late to stop the signal chain, but it was one less enemy to worry about. _Dammit!_ Of _course_ this was trap. _Why couldn’t they just have one simple in-and-out mission?_ He had never seen this much action with the Deadeyes. 

“Can you see where their next signal relayer is holed up?” the lieutenant asked.

“No, sir.” Jorgan responded, frustrated. 

“Then let’s get moving. No point in delaying the inevitable.”

The speeder jolted forward at a faster pace than before. This time, Mell saw the flashing before he did. “There!”

Another shot echoed through the canyon and they both heard a muffled cry. _Huh,_ Jorgan thought, _this is actually a little difficult._ Taking out targets thirty meters away was nothing, but riding a moving speeder and aiming at targets directly above him was a different matter altogether. Lieutenant Xanadu called out the next target, but he had already spotted it. It was over on the opposite wall. Jorgan almost struggled to get his rifle over her head and aim, all the while trying to grip onto the zig-zagging speeder with his legs. 

Four, five, six signal relayers down when they came to a fork in the pass. Mell knew there was no time to pull up the map. The fork loomed closer. _C’mon, Melladonia,_ she told herself, _make a fucking decision!_ She leaned right. They cruised down the fork path and it seemed she had chosen wisely. No bandits here, but no more signal flashes popped up, either. Not a good sign. They rounded a curve and could see the paths converge again ahead. Mell slowed down almost to a crawl.

“Jorgan.” Mell took off her goggles and turned to look at the sergeant. She never addressed his rank when talking to him. She knew it was no fault of her own, but she still felt guilty about his demotion on Ord Mantell, and thought it was kinder to not remind him about it.

“Sir.” he responded, ever the professional.

“The ambush was most likely down that left path. Which means, they’ll be probably be waiting for us where the forks meet again. I’m going to need all of my concentration to drive. I need you to cover us.” She trusted him. She knew that he would have her back in any situation, but she hated not being able to do the same. 

Jorgan didn’t like this. The lieutenant’s words were calm and collected, but he could see the uneasiness in her sunburned face. There was no telling how many attackers there were around that bend, but what other option was there? He took in a deep breath, and braced himself for whatever there was ahead. He would keep her safe.  
“Fine. I’ll handle it.”


End file.
